The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 of German Patent Application No. DE 200 10 900.6, filed on Jun. 20, 2000, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a hydrocyclone device which includes several hydrocyclones.
2. Discussion of Background Information
It is known that hydrocyclones are used to fraction fluids, containing particles of different sinking characteristics, using strong centrifugal forces. It is possible, for instance, to concentrate the contaminants contained in a fibrous suspension, as used for the production of paper, and to guide them out of the hydrocyclone by a rejected stock connector. The fraction cleared of contaminants, namely the accepted stock, is guided through the accepted stock connector and is used further. These procedures are known per se as well as the fact that a positive effect is only ensured when the hydrocyclones do not exceed a certain size. In a hydrocyclone device made for greater amounts of throughput, sometimes several, frequently even many, hydrocyclones are necessary. In this manner, the hydrocyclones are flowed through in a parallel manner by the fluids to be cleaned, i.e., the fluid flow must be divided into a multitude of smaller partial flows. Accordingly, for instance, distribution and collection devices can be used as described in the following.
A useful distribution and collection device must generally be designed such that the fluid flows are distributed as evenly as possible. Additionally, hydraulic disturbances, vortexes, or the like should be avoided. Another requirement for hydrocyclone devices of this type is their simplicity for allowing an inexpensive production. Additionally, the hydrocyclones should be easy to exchange for maintenance purposes. These demands have not been fulfilled satisfactorily by the devices available up to now.
The present invention provides a hydrocyclone device with simple elements designed such that the hydrocyclones can easily be mounted and dismounted and that a secure fixing is ensured even in the case of excessive pressure.
In the hydrocyclone device of the instant invention, at least one of the connectors of the hydrocyclones, e.g., feeding connector, accepted stock connector, and rejected stock connector, is provided with a flange which is mounted onto a distribution and collection device. In a preferred embodiment, the flange can be screwed onto the distribution and collection device with the aid of threaded bolts which are mounted to a wall of the distribution and collection device.
The distribution and collection device designed according to the invention contains, for the influx and for the outflow, one relatively large cylindrical metal pipe each or an oval metal flow piece. The above-mentioned threaded bolts can easily be mounted, e.g., welded, thereto. For a screwed connection, only a few and also cheap norm pieces are necessary. Due to the fact that hydrocyclones are produced in series, e.g., are molded or injected, the flanges can be produced in one piece with the connectors.
The present invention is directed to a hydrocyclone device that includes at least one hydrocyclone having at least one feeding connector, at least one accepted stock connector, and at least one rejected stock connector. The device also includes at least one distribution and collection device arranged for feeding fluids into and removing fluids from the at least one hydrocyclone, and at least one flange coupled to at least one of the at least one feeding connector, the at least one accepted stock connector, and the at least one rejected stock connector, which is removably couplable to the at least one distribution and collection device.
In accordance with a feature of the instant invention, the at least one flange can be removably couplable to the at least one distribution and collection device via threaded bolts.
Further, the at least one distribution and collection device can include a wall, and the at least one flange may be screwed onto the at least one distribution and collection device via threaded bolts mounted to the wall.
Moreover, threaded bolts can be welded to a wall of the at least one distribution and collection device. The wall is not provided with any reinforcements or bores at welding points.
Two threaded bolts can be associated with at least each of the at least one accepted stock connector and the feeding connector and can be mounted to a wall of the at least one distribution and collection device at point having a shortest distance from the at least one flange.
According to another feature of the instant invention, at least one seal may be arranged to surround one of the at least one accepted stock connector and the feeding connector. The at least one seal may be insertable into the at least one distribution and collection device such that a portion of the at least one seal is located inside the at least one distribution and collection device and a portion of the at least one seal is located outside of the at least one distribution and collection device. Further, an outer diameter of the portions of the at least one seal is greater than a diameter of an opening in a wall of the at least one distribution and collection device through which the at least one seal is inserted. Moreover, another portion of the at least one seal, which is positionable in the opening of the wall, can have an outer diameter at least about 2 mm smaller than the diameter of the opening. The at least one seal can include a bore, and bore may have a cone shape that narrows in an insertion direction.
In accordance with still another feature of the invention, the flange may have a disk surface which, in its mounted position, is not in contact with the at least one seal.
Further, at least two of the connectors of the at least one hydrocyclone may be positionably adjustable relative to each other and positionably fixable.
A central axis of the at least one hydrocyclone can be arranged substantially perpendicularly to a main flow direction in the at least one distribution and collection device.
Still further, the at least one distribution and collection device can include a flow part formed by a closed side wall with openings arranged to receive the at least one feeding connector and one of the at least one accepted stock connector and the rejected stock connector, and a separation wall positioned inside the closed side wall to seal a flow cross section. The at least one feeding connector may be arranged upstream of the separation wall, relative to a main flow direction, and the one of the at least one accepted stock connector and the at least one rejected stock connector may be arranged downstream of the separation wall, relative to the main flow direction. The openings for the one of the at least one accepted stock connector and the at least one rejected stock connector can be evenly distributed over a circumference of the at least one distribution and collection device. Further, a central axis of the at least one hydrocyclone may be positioned parallel to the main flow direction. The side wall can have a cross-section of a regular polygon.
In accordance with a further feature of the present invention, the at least one hydrocyclone may include a plurality of hydrocyclones, in which each of the plurality of hydrocyclones include at least one feeding connector, at least one accepted stock connector, and at least one rejected stock connector. Moreover, the at least one distribution and collection device may include at least one feeding pipe, arranged to feed fluids to be cleaned to the plurality of hydrocyclones, and at least one accepted stock pipe, arranged to remove accepted stock from the plurality of hydrocyclones.
The at least one flange may include a plurality of flanges which are removably couplable to the at least one distribution and collection device, and one of the plurality of flanges may be mounted to each of the at least one feeding connector and at least one accepted stock connector. Two threaded bolts may be coupled to the at least one distribution and collection device to mount each of the plurality of flanges.
According to a still further feature of the invention, the at least one flange may have a round disk shape. Moreover, the at least one flange may have an oval shape. Still further, the at least one flange can include a plurality of flanges, and the flanges can have different shapes. Alternatively, the at least one flange can include a plurality of flanges, and the flanges can have same shapes.
In accordance with yet another feature of the instant invention, the at least one distribution and collection device can include at least one feeding pipe, arranged to feed fluids to be cleaned to the plurality of hydrocyclones, and at least one accepted stock pipe, arranged to remove accepted stock from the plurality of hydrocyclones.
The at least one feeding pipe and the at least one accepted stock pipe may be aligned one above the other, and the at least one feeding pipe can be arranged below the at least one accepted stock pipe. Further, stock can flow out of the at least one feeding pipe in a direction substantially parallel to a direction at which stock flows into the at least one accepted stock. Still further, stock can flow out of the at least one feeding pipe in a direction substantially perpendicular to a direction at which stock flows into the at least one accepted stock.
The present invention is directed to an apparatus for cleaning a fluid that includes a plurality of hydrocyclones, in which each hydrocyclone includes a feeding connector and an accepted stock connector. A feed pipe is provided for supplying the fluid to be cleaned, and an accepted stock pipe is provided for removing the cleaned fluid. Flanges are coupled to the feeding connector and to the accepted stock connector. The flanges are removably couplable to the feed pipe and to the accepted stock pipe.
In accordance with yet another feature in accordance with the instant invention, the feed pipe and the accepted stock pipe can include walls, and the apparatus may further include threaded bolts mounted to the walls. The flanges may be removably couplable to the threaded bolts. Further, each hydrocyclone can further include a rejected stock connector, and the apparatus can further include a rejected stock pipe coupled to the rejected stock connector.
Other exemplary embodiments and advantages of the present invention may be ascertained by reviewing the present disclosure and the accompanying drawing.